California firefighters chase new fires ignited by lightning

Firefighters scrambled Friday to quash fires ignited by lightning as thunderstorms with mostly small but welcome amounts of rain rumbled across drought-stricken Northern California, where forests have been burning for weeks.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-09-california-firefighters-ignited-lightning.html

Image: Hubble captures a sparkling cluster

This star-studded image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts NGC 6717, which lies more than 20,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. NGC 6717 is a globular cluster, a roughly spherical collection of stars tightly bound together by gravity. Globular clusters contain more stars in their centers than their outer fringes, as this image aptly demonstrates; the sparsely populated edges of NGC 6717 are in stark contrast to the sparkling collection of stars at its center.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-09-image-hubble-captures-cluster.html

Radioactive rhino horns may deter poachers in S.Africa

South African scientists are studying ways to inject radioactive material into rhino horns to make them easier to detect at border posts, a move to discourage poaching, a researcher said on Friday.

Storm Olaf drenches Mexico's Baja California

Tropical storm Olaf swept across Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Friday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the major beach resorts of Los Cabos before losing its hurricane force.

Cybersecurity seen as rising risk for airlines after 9/11

After remaking their security procedures following the 9/11 attacks to stop airline hijackings, carriers are now faced with rising threats targeting computers and electronic equipment critical to their operations and safety.

Nature congress calls for protecting 30% of Earth, 80% of Amazon

The world's most influential conservation congress passed resolutions Friday calling for 80 percent of the Amazon and 30 percent of Earth's surface—land and sea—to be designated "protected areas" to halt and reverse the loss of wildlife.

Epic Games to appeal US ruling in Apple app store fight

Epic Games said Friday it will appeal a US judge's ruling that loosened Apple's control over app store payments, but did not brand the tech giant's dominance as a monopoly.

Foreign investors exempt from tax on bitcoin profits: El Salvador

El Salvador will exempt foreign investors from taxes on profits on bitcoin speculation in the country, a government adviser said Friday, after it became the first to recognize the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

COVID vaccines hold up against severe Delta: US data

Fully vaccinated people were 11 times less likely to die of COVID and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to the unvaccinated since highly contagious Delta became the most common variant, US health authorities said Friday.

Prehistoric winged lizard unearthed in Chile

Chilean scientists have announced the discovery of the first-ever southern hemisphere remains of a type of Jurassic-era "winged lizard" known as a pterosaur.

Mars rocks collected by Perseverance boost case for ancient life

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has now collected two rock samples, with signs that they were in contact with water for a long period of time boosting the case for ancient life on the Red Planet.

Zoo Atlanta: Positive virus tests among gorilla population

Several members of a troop of western lowland gorillas at Zoo Atlanta have tested positive for the coronavirus after handlers noticed many of the great apes were showing signs of mild coughing, runny noses and a small loss of appetite, the zoo said Friday.

Biden presses states to require vaccines for all teachers

Hoping to prevent another school year from being upended by the pandemic, President Joe Biden visited a Washington middle school Friday to push his new COVID plan, accusing some Republican governors of being "cavalier" with the health of children.

FDA official hopeful younger kids can get shots this year

The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine chief said Friday the agency will rapidly evaluate COVID-19 vaccinations for younger children as soon as it gets the needed data—and won't cut corners.

20 years later, fallout from toxic WTC dust cloud grows

The dust cloud caught Carl Sadler near the East River, turning his clothes and hair white as he looked for a way out of Manhattan after escaping from his office at the World Trade Center.

CDC finds unvaccinated 11 times more likely to die of COVID

New U.S. studies released Friday show the COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalizations and death even as the extra-contagious delta variant swept the country.

California firefighters chase new fires ignited by lightning

Firefighters scrambled Friday to quash fires ignited by lightning as thunderstorms with mostly small but welcome amounts of rain rumbled across drought-stricken Northern California, where forests have been burning for weeks.

Image: Hubble captures a sparkling cluster

This star-studded image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts NGC 6717, which lies more than 20,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. NGC 6717 is a globular cluster, a roughly spherical collection of stars tightly bound together by gravity. Globular clusters contain more stars in their centers than their outer fringes, as this image aptly demonstrates; the sparsely populated edges of NGC 6717 are in stark contrast to the sparkling collection of stars at its center.

Prostate cancer risk 24% higher among 9/11 rescue/recovery workers after World Trade Center attacks

The risk of prostate cancer was 24% higher among 9/11 rescue and recovery workers after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, with the highest risk among the earliest responders, finds research published online in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

World Trade Center firefighters 13% more likely to develop cancer than those not working at site of 9/11 attacks

Firefighters who worked at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 are 13% more likely than colleagues who didn't work at the site to develop cancer, particularly prostate and thyroid cancer, finds research published online in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.